Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. - The Roaring Days ! audiobook release mid-2025

Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. - The Roaring Days !




​All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;  Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
“We should strive by might and main To hold our precious prize,
To live in peace and harmony, Beneath our sunny skies.
Think of those who have passed away, They grubbed the great gum trees
They blazed the track with fire and axe, All for you and me ...
Those were the times of grit and graft, In the days of Cobb and Co.”
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​Reflecting on the stern austerity of pioneering days gradually giving way to the progress of civilisation, we once again remember the ramping, roaring days when the Royal Mail was operated by Cobb and Co. "What a wealth of romance and adventure the very name suggests ... But oh! they were good days; rough days, quart pot days, damper days, perhaps ; but still they were big, brave, generous days—days ‘when the world was wide,’ to quote Henry Lawson."

Immerse yourself in the pages of this book and experience a 'flood of recollections' from the roaring days of Cobb and Co. Relish an array of amusing anecdotes and tales that capture the 'grit & graft' of the age. Let the romance and poetic charm of the times sweep you away, bringing to life the spirit and stories of a bygone era.

 Embark on a journey that begins with the infamous 'snake in the trousers' tale. Venture through the remarkable courage of Mrs. Mary Jinks, a mother of twelve, and the unfortunate swagman named Tom McBride. Traverse the deep, untamed creeks and billabongs that proved too challenging to cross. Relive the 'Bail up!' moments experienced by Cobb and Co. coach driver Palmer, who recounted, "As for me, I never carried a pistol the whole time I was driving; it was no good trying that on, for if I had done so, and the bushrangers got wind of it, they would have shot me. For that reason, few drivers carried arms." Along the way, discover countless anecdotes that illuminate the true spirit of the pioneers, where the heart and grit of early Australia shine through.​

Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. - Back to the Beginning 
(Victoria & the Goldfields)




​All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;   Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
‘Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. – Back to the Beginning’ delves into the early settlement of the colony of Victoria, paying homage to those pioneers, particularly during the years 1854-1929. This includes the firm of Cobb and Co., whose immortal coaches blazed tracks across the continent, and which was first established in Victoria during the gold rush years.

In this book, travel through 'Melbourne the Marvellous' and beyond. Discover the coach regulations, in addition to tales of floods, fires, and highway robbery along the Cobb and Co. tracks. Learn how rabbits were first liberated and escaped to the surrounding country!

Take an extended stop at Glenrowan. Bob Grover, a Cobb and Co. driver, recounted, "I drove in the Kelly country, but I was never stuck up, because I always carried a bottle of brandy in the boot. More than once or twice, I’d swung round a bend to see Ned Kelly himself with his hand up to stop me. All he wanted was a stiff nip, and he always got it from me, and we’d swap a word or two." The end of bushrangers Edward and Daniel Kelly, Stephen Hart, and Joseph Byrne—known as The Kelly Gang—occurred during the infamous encounter at Glenrowan in 1880, which led to the capture of Ned Kelly. Upon his hanging, Ned Kelly "merely said, Ah, well, I suppose it has come to this."

As history shows, the era of grand romance and high adventure of Cobb and Co. came to an end when “the horses were unhitched from the shafts for the final time, and the coach dragged to an unused paddock among other worn-out servants of man—useless and forgotten. Yet it had its day—a long one, too—but it has now closed.”

Certainly, much more could be written about early settlement, but perhaps enough has been shared to remind some, of the early Australian pioneers. “The younger men and women of the next generation might pause to admire what their fathers and mothers accomplished as pioneers—members of 'the legion that never was listed,' whose heroic, lion-hearted labor and womanly sacrifice have transformed forests into blossoming fields and pastures, creating a new and fertile province in the State of Victoria.”

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​All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;   Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
‘Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. – The New South Wales Headquarters’ continues to examine Australian history during the period when Cobb and Co. expanded into N.S.W., with James Rutherford "setting a cracking pace and gathering a regular monopoly of mail contracts.” He fixed his headquarters at Bathurst, with “the firm on its way to greatness, and Rutherford riding the wind without any false pride, brag, or skite. He was making his contribution to Australia felix.”

Climb aboard the box seat of one of Cobb's grand coaches. Feel the exhilaration as you rattle, trot, and clickety-clack across a rickety bridge. Embark on your journey during the gold rush era in Victoria, before joining the “bearded and moustached whips as they make their triumphant entrance” into Bathurst, where they operated until the railways took over.

Immerse yourself in tales of poles and king-bolts breaking, coaches capsizing, liberated horses, and rough-looking fellows emerging from the bush with calls of 'Bail up!' Delve into the mystery of whether the Escort Robbery involved a Cobb and Co. coach, and learn about the death of bushranger Hall.
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Take a longer stop at Abercrombie House, an Australian heritage treasure in Bathurst. Established by Major-General William Stewart in the 1820s, this property has been home to the Morgan Family for over half a century. A Cobb and Co. coach, on loan from Mr. Ray Green, has been placed in the carriage garage on the southern side of the 1876 basalt Stables Building, which is being restored to include an interpretive display along with period items, tack, and harness. 

All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;  Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
Journey through tales of bushrangers, floods, coach accidents, amusing anecdotes, and other stories, focusing on the men, and the occasional woman, who handled the reins. They "were no ordinary type, the men of Cobb and Co., not merely steerers of horses, but highly interesting fellows who, from long and intimate observation along their stages, through ear as well as eye... could entertain their passengers right through their journeys."

From the moment the first of Cobb's coaches departed Melbourne until the last coach journeyed from Yeulba to Surat, the nation witnessed significant development, with the old line of coaches playing a crucial role in its growth. Cobb's coaches did not wait for roads, bridges, or crossings—they forged their own tracks for hundreds of miles. Regardless of rain, hail, shine, mud, dust, or flood, Cobb's drivers and their horses, whether wild, quiet, or moderately quiet, completed their 'stage' with unwavering determination.
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Over 800 of Cobb's drivers from across Australia have been identified in this book, ensuring that the Cobb and Co. story is not "mouldering away in its own dust in some long forgotten place." The 'Along the Tracks of Cobb and Co.' book series, with its unique publications, has been recognized for its historical significance.


​All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;  Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
Some felt the times were better, during the days of Cobb and Co. (G.M. Smith), recalling "the dust of bush roads and the sweet odors of ferns and eucalypti, captured on the dewy breath of early morning." 'Along the tracks of Cobb and Co. – The Western Run continues the exploration of the 'loose confederation of proprietors' who identified as Cobb and Co., originating from Bourke Street, Melbourne.

Follow the journey as this remarkable enterprise expanded into New South Wales, Queensland, and the outback. During Cobb and Co.’s reign, there was bustling activity at every stage, with refreshment spots and mail-changes providing welcome breaks along the tracks. However, the rise of the railway system gradually led to the decline of the coaching business. Main routes were abandoned, and country lines were reduced to short feeders for the railway. The swift, mechanical transport that replaced them no longer required halting places every 30 miles or so, leading to the fading of once-promising hamlets. The westerners felt the loss of what had become almost an Australian institution—a romantic and picturesque feature of their homeland that could never be replaced.
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You might wonder, what sets this Cobb and Co. Book Series apart? It aims to highlight the positive history of how Cobb and Co., along with the postal service, helped shape the great Australia we know today. By selecting fragments written between the 1800s and mid-1900s, history speaks for itself. The original text transports you to the 'box seat' next to the driver, experiencing the journey firsthand. As you cross the creek and top the first rise out of the valley, the sun's golden rays pierce through the thick bush, the atmosphere warms, and the sweet-smelling incense of wattle flower wafts on the breath of the morning breeze. Or perhaps you experience the rain, the pitiless sleet, cutting your face like a thousand sharp-edged knives—cold, wet, and full of discomfort. Either way, join us on this journey and take an extended stop in and around Roma.​​

​All information evidenced-based and referenced
Postage & handling: One book $12;  Set of 6 Books $25.50
​Gift wrapping: $4.95
The old stagecoach has been pushed off the roads by the motor, but the ghosts of the romantic past will ever linger. Explore the beginnings of the 'American Telegraph Line of Coaches' that became Cobb and Co. John Murray Peck, Freeman Cobb, James Swanton, and John Lamber, as partners, originated Cobb and Co. on the Bendigo road on January 1, 1854—the famous coaching firm whose name and fame afterwards spread all over the five Australian mainland states.

Venture on a journey through the era of coaching, the delivery of Her Majesty's mail, and the advent of the 'iron horse' as you traverse The Great Northern Road, the route from Sydney to Brisbane. Delight in the company of the skilled and brave 'whip' (driver) as you make an extended stop in and around Tenterfield, where coaches were often 'bailed up' and robbed by bushrangers.
The bushranger most associated with Tenterfield in the late sixties and 1870 was Fred Ward, known as Thunderbolt. He was an old 'Cockatoo' bird and one of the few prisoners who escaped from that gruesome island. The escape was effected on September 11, 1863, and Ward had for a companion in his flight a fellow convict named Britten.
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Included are tales of adventure, gold rushes, bushrangers, brave pioneers, drought, death, and flood. Cobb and Co. represent "a romance almost as old as Queensland itself, the romance of the famous coaching days of Australia—brave men and horses that made the bush ring with the rattle, trot, trot, clicketty clack of iron-shod wheel and hoof."

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​Book sales fund further research
​Thank you for your interest in letting Australian history 'speak for itself' ...   
Contributions and the sharing of personal family stories/photos welcome

Celebrating 100 years ...
"The Last Coach ... on August 14, the last horse-coach trip of the
world-renowned firm of Cobb and Co. ​has been run
from Surat to Yeulba ..."  
​(The Last Coach, 5 Sep 1924, p.16)
* * * * * 
Surat-Yuleba Cobb and Co. Festival, ​16-26 August 2024

Congratulations to all organisers and participants.
​An event to be remembered!
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‘Along the Western Run of Cobb & Co’.  Talk ... 
Hazel Johnson—author, farmer, teacher, lover of history and proud Australian—join her on the  ‘box seat’ as she highlights stories of the Cobb and Co pioneers and the 'unyielding courage, determination and resilience' that built modern Australia. Journey through floods, coach accidents, bail-ups by bushrangers and the like … follow a brief history of the firm that ran under the style of ‘Cobb and Co.’  ...

Talk shared on Cobb and Co. Facebook Group
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Professor Nimmo, Her Excellency the Honourable Dr Jeannette Young AC PSM, Governor of Queensland, and Hazel Johnson, at Hazel's 'Along the Western Run of Cobb & Co.' Talk, Cobb & Co Changing Station, Surat, 23 August 2024
Public Group - 'Cobb and Co.'

 Acknowledgement of Country
We acknowledge the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Cobb and Co. stage coaches travelled.
We pay our respect to Elders past, present and emerging, and,
​extend our deep respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples.